Gram
by Doubleblade Miriko
Summary: "A sword like no other. Its sheer destructiveness threatens to damn any who dare hold it."  How Wylfred obtained the dark sword that was meant to him. CotP fic, based on the C ending, darker Wylfred. Few cameos by charecters from different genres.


**Disclaimer: I don't own Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume or any of it's chareacters, nor do I own the other charecters you may (or will) recognize from this.**

**Warnings/Notes: Some course language, some mentions of blood and violence, wholly I'd consider the rating to be a low T. This contains few cameos from charecters in other series, have fun spotting them.  
**

**Gram**

oOoOo

It was a cold day, the sky was cloudy, when I walked through Aidelrave's streets, looking for a weapon smith. I was sure that it would snow later, but for now I had to find a new sword for myself. The old one had served long and well, but in the last battle I noticed cracks in it after the finisher, so I was in a dire need for a new one. My search had led me to a shady alley, filled with beggars and orphans, who I tried to avoid at all costs. When walking past a dingy little shop I saw Ailyth appear in front of me.

"What is it Ailyth?"

"Master Wylfred, you should take a look to that shop. I'm sure you can feel that aura too, Destiny Plume has stained enough to allow you to sense things that a mere mortal should not be able to sense."

I frowned and concentrated for awhile. True, now that she pointed it out, I could feel something nagging for attention in the back of my head, somewhat dark presence that demanded me to walk into that shop.

With a sigh I walked to the shop's door and entered the dim-lit and dusty place. A bell rung somewhere hidden but I paid no attention to that. My attention was on the walls. Rows upon rows of different weapons decorated the walls, some were cracked and bloodied, but there were also new ones that cost a hefty penny in shops where I usually visited. In one wall were bladed weapons and in another crossbows and other kinds of weapons scattered amidst them. But there was a one particular sword that drew my attention...

The sword, on the first look, wasn't anything out of the ordinary: it was somewhat long, not like one of those huge ones Mischka used, it was more like all my swords had been. It could be wielded with one- or two hands, which would fit nicely to my fighting style. When I looked at the blade, I felt my eyes widen. It was pinch black, not like any metal I had seen. Now I took the handle under closer inspection and it wasn't so normal as I had thought. Leather strapped around it was caked with dried blood and I felt it stain my hands. The ornament at the tip was something I had never seen: made of the same black metal as the blade and crafted into a shape resembling monster's head, somewhat like a dog. I stared into it's eyes and that nagging feeling in my mind grew.

"What do you want with that sword?"

Startled, I turned around, the sword in my hand, ready to strike the intruder down, but then I noticed that it was a man wearing a leather apron and hands covered in grime, from that I guessed that he was working in here or even owned the place. I relaxed slightly, but never eased my hands from the sword's handle.

"Is customer not allowed to browse through merchandise when he is planning to buy something?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. The worker paled as if I had said something horrible. Now I managed to take a closer look at the man, he had short green hair, which looked somewhat like a brush, tan skin and three earrings in his left ear. He was definitely older than me by many years He was muscular and I guessed he could look rather frightening if he wanted to. But at the moment he was looking at me with mixture of shock and fear.

"You aren't serious are you? Do you have no idea what sword that is? Of all the swords you just had to choose that one!" He almost yelled and pinched the bridge of his nose. Now I was curious, and the dark presence, which was probably coming from the sword, nagged me, I could almost hear whispers of bloodlust and madness coming from it.

"I'd be very happy to know what sword this is. It's not normal, that's what I can tell. There's something very... Dark in it. Bloodlust, madness..." I murmured the last words so that they were barely audible, because I felt something in me respond to the whispers. The part of me that stepped forth when I sacrificed my companions to the Plume in hopes to achieve my revenge. In a way the sword felt nice in my hand, like I had always used that sword. I did a few slashes with it and spun it around, marvelling it's balance and sharpness. It looked like it had been sharpened yesterday.

"You better come with me kid, I'll tell you about that dammed sword." The worker said and led me to the back. The tiny room was filled with broken and new weaponry, they were crammed to the shelves and when the shelves had run out of room, the storage was expanded to the floor. Somehow there was a table crammed amidst all of the sharp junk and so we sit down to a pair of very creaky chairs. I laid the sword to the table, where it gleamed in dim lighting. The Plume pulsed in my pocket, reacting to it's presence. Now I was curious. I looked at the green haired man as he cleared his throat.

"So, first, I own this dingy little place and I have worked as a mercenary before retiring from that profession, so I know my shit. When I say that a weapon is good, it's good, when I say it's bad, it's bad. Got that?" He looked me in the eyes. I met his gaze with my own.

"Yes, I understand, but this sword is something I have never seen and I have seen my fare share of weapons, I assure you. This is an excellent sword. What you have against it?"

He ran his hand through his green hair and sighed again. Taking a swing of liquor from a bottle I hadn't noticed he started to speak.

"Yeah, it's one hell of a sword, okay? It has travelled from hand to hand for many years, hell, maybe centuries, seeing much bloodshed and slaughtering unbelievable numbers, it has seen many swordsmen, brilliant and poorly trained, but it has always done what it does best: kill." At this point he took another swing of unidentified liquor and looked the sword with both respect and fear, mixed with adoration.

"But it's not from this world, not from Midgard at all. Not one smith could have made it so fine, it's blade so sharp or it's balance so perfect. I've heard many stories, they all differ, but in one point they all agree and I agree with them: This sword was made in Nilfheim. Even it's name tells it. It's called Gram."

_Else Garm, Hel's hound,_

_on thy soul shall feed_

I felt my breath get caught in my throat when I remembered the last line of the covenant. The change in the name was so small that one could notice the reference to Hel's great beast. This explained it all: why I could feel the darkness in it and why Ailyth could sense it's presence. She was from Nilfheim, whereas I used the Plume's power, which originated from there. That was the reason why the Gram felt like a natural expansion of my arm, my darkness was similar to it. I picked the Gram up and looked the black blade again. I could feel the slight rush of power and darkness that sang in my veins when I held it, demanding blood. I suppressed the feeling and looked back at the awed shop owner.

"If it's from Nilfheim, how did it end up in Midgard? I'm sure Lady Hel isn't very generous when it comes to her realm's weapons or treasures." I saw Ailyth materialize to that state where nobody but me could see her. She chuckled and I smirked. I guess I got something right.

"I dunno', but one popular theory is that some human made a deal with Hel to get that, maybe offering their souls in exchange of power or something. Poor bastard died to the power he got, that sword. It has somehow brought the end of every one of it's owners, up until now." The old mercenary sighed and ran his hand through his green hair.

"And that's why I don't want to sell that thing to a young kid like you." I ignored the warning and focused to the sword that was lying in the table, begging my attention. I _had_ to get this sword. But still, sword from Hel herself...

"You know the popular story in detail, right? Nobody would get a sword without knowing it's story if it had one. And if it has killed every owner it has had, why are you still in here?" I watched as the man's eyes darkened and his hands closed to fists. Something dark flashed in his look, old pain that refused to go away. After a long silence he started to speak, voice low and full of emotion.

"...I was a great swordsman once, ya know? Actually, I was part of a small mercenary group, we were good, 'cause our leader was an outstanding fighter. And other members weren't half shitty either. It went on a few years and then we got a mission to eliminate a herd of dragons from the Artolian Mountains, nothing special in that. Easy money for us." He chuckled, though the sound had not mirth in it, and took another long swing of his bottle. He should be slightly tipsy now, but he showed no signs of drunkenness. I admired the man's alcohol tolerance.

"Anyway," he continued, "We got the job done without trouble, but when I killed the last dragon by slicing it's stomach open, something dropped from there. You guessed it kid, it was that sword, the Gram. From that I'd guess that the last owner was eaten, his weapons and all, by that dragon. Not thinking, I did the thing every swordsman would do: picked up the sword and took it with me. In that same night I couldn't sleep, something was making me restless. So I went outside and found the sword sitting amidst my junk. I remember gripping the handle and then everything went black." I saw his face turn stony and jaw clench.

"When I woke up, was still holding that sword, but it was covered with blood. So were my hands, the ground, everything. I looked around and it was just as I feared. The blood was my comrade's, they were all dead..." His voice was cracking, but I showed no emotion. I too had murdered many of my companions, I had already lost count of how many I had killed. All that mattered was that I could collect enough sin to kill the Valkyrie. I had no sympathy for this man. I think he saw it too when he looked into my eyes. He quickly gathered his wits and continued on.

"From that day on, I worked by myself, using that cursed sword. I think I somehow satisfied it with my anguish over my companion's deaths and the violent lifestyle that followed afterwards." Another break, another swing from the bottle.

"After few years of that I heard the popular story, it says long time ago some general, before a battle his army couldn't win, desperate for victory, called out to Hel praying for strength to kill his enemies. He promised his soul, his sanity, everything for it. Hel heard his call and crafted this sword and granted the general immerse powers for that one battle only. Nobody knows for sure what that battle was like, but I found some old men, who told that their great-great-great-great grandfathers were in that battle and the story of it had passed on in the family. They told about laughing, mad general, who killed friend and foe alike, was clad in black, had long silver hair and one black wing which he used to fly over the terrified men. In the end of it, when he was the only living being in the battlefield, he drove the sword to his own throat, screaming something about 'Mother'" The green haired man smirked. "Believe what you want." I found it odd that when the general supposedly killed everything in there, somebody could still tell the story to the next generations. I shrugged. It was only a myth, it wasn't supposed to make sense.

Man's smirk soon turned to a frown.

"I hate the hellish thing, but I'd never condemn another to the same fate that I had by selling it to them. So sorry kid, no deal. If I could offer you another sword...?"

My face darkened. Gram was meant to me, I just new it. Even it's supposed first wielder traded everything for power, just like I had done. I locked my eyes with the shopkeeper's, stopping his talk about other swords. Slowly I withdrew the Destiny Plume from pocket and laid it on the table, right next to the Gram. Both started glowing in an ominous red colour. Shopkeeper's eyes widened

"You see, I'm not a normal 'kid', I'm not even a kid to begin with. This sword was meant to me, for I am already quite familiar with the power Lady Hel may grant for those who ask for it. I'll make this simple: I take this sword and relieve you from it's burden or I'll take this sword and kill you with it, amending you from your past sins. Which will it be?"

Retired swordsman's face was cold and his eyes sharp as he looked at me.

"You have your own deal with Hel." It wasn't a question, he just stated a fact. I smiled and nodded. "To kill the Valkyrie who took my father and condemned my family to misery, I will go to deepest pits of Nilfheim and even kill those who are close to me, to get my revenge."

The man broke to a feral grin and laughed. I looked at him with wide eyes. He should tell me to stop, to turn home and salvage what I could. But no, he _laughed!_

"Brilliant! You sure are something! In all of my years I haven't seen a kid who has so much conviction, who believes in what they are doing. You have no doubt, no regrets, you'll really do what you said if I don't let you walk away from here with that sword." He chuckled slightly.

"Hell, if revenge is what you want, you have a right to have it and I can't take it away from you. If it was anybody else, I couldn't hand over the Gram, but for you, who has already messed with Nilfheim, I can give it, I'm sure you are immune to it's darkness..." _Because you have enough of your own. _

I nodded and pocketed the Plume and picked up the Gram. I smiled when I felt the power radiating from it. Ailyth, in her see-through state looked at me with approval when I sheathed it, it fit perfectly to my old sheath. I walked back to the main shop and the green haired shopkeeper followed with that dark smile still on his face. I pulled out my money pouch when he stationed himself behind the counter, but to my surprise he shook his head.

"Nope kid, I'm not taking money from that thing, as long as you carry it away from here and I'll never get to see it again, I'm satisfied. I hope it helps you in that revenge of yours. Rip that death angel's wings from her back for me, will ya?" I was already at the door when I turned and gave a dark smile.

"You could always join me. And old mercenary like you could prove to be useful. And I don't think you earn much from this dingy little place anyway." I offered. It would be a great benefit to have him as one of my companions and he seemed to be quite a nice guy, though he lacked a few social skills.

"Thanks for the offer kid, but I'll pass. I'm too old for that shit anyway and that war between the brothers doesn't interest me at all. Just... Good luck kid, and don't lose that conviction you have, 'cause when you do, the guilt will swallow you."

I nodded, he was right, I didn't afford to waver a bit, but I was sure that I wouldn't.

With that I walked out from the shop, the new sword dangling from my belt, though it was much different from the sword I had thought. Not until I was outside I realized that I hadn't asked the man's name. I shrugged. I didn't matter really, I got what I came for, so I headed back to the inn I was staying at, tomorrow I would head for castle where prince Langrey would choose the mercenaries he would take with him to the war.

With all my planning, the green haired shopkeeper, silver haired general and other things not important at the moment slipped to the back of my mind. The handle of Gram was comforting in my hand, promises of easy victories echoing in my head. With a smile I walked through the streets. The war had finally arrived and I was ready for it.

Back at the dingy little weapon shop the green haired man smirked while watching the kid's retreating from. Who would have known that kids like that still existed... Sighing he put "Closed" sign to the window and went to the junk room again. He needed a drink.

oOoOo

AN:

So, I don't know where this came from. I should be writing Meus Socius... Gram just happens to be my favorite sword for Wylfred in the whole game, after Angel Slayer of course, my mind just made a link between it and Garm and I wanted to give it a bit of a backround and show my idea about how Wylfred obtained it. In-game you get it from Hel, after those last fights before the Valkyrie, or that's what I remember, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. I'm sure you spotted those few cameos there were, first is easy, but I tried make the second more tricky to find. Tell if you found them and what do you think about them and who were they, then you can serve yourself a cookie, 'cause as much as I would like, I can't send them over the internet. Tell me if you liked this, what could I do better and if there's horrible grammar mistakes that make reading difficult, tell me and I'll fix them. Thanks for reading, I hope ya liked it, over and out.


End file.
